Oscillatable mining machine



Nav. 1s, 1941.

c. H. RECORD 2,263,143 `OSGILLATA-BLE MINING MACHINE V FiledFb. 8, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 :inventor V Nov. 18, 19.41; H RECQRD 2,263,143

OSCILLATABLE MINING MACHINE Fig. 3` is a longitudinaiverticai Patentedv Nov. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT vOFFICE i oscILLA'rABLE MINING MACHINE Charles H. Record, deceased, late of Union, Oreg., by Mae Cook, administratrx, Union, Oreg.

,Application February 8, 1939, Serial No. 255,248

4 Claims." l (Cl. 209-446) This invention relates to mining machines and has as one of its objects to provide a combined gravity concentratorand an amalgam separator that is simple in construction and assembly, and comparatively light in weight for transportation purposes, and that has increased capacity by increased rapidity of passage of the material therethrough.` v I Another object of the invention is to yprovide a mining machine that is adapted to` be regulated toaccommodate itself to substantially any of the precious metals or valuableminerals.

Another object of the invention is to provide `a mining machine that may be adapted for use either manually or by any prime mover.

Another object of the invention is to provide amining machine that is adapted for use to separate or concentrate, or both simultaneously and in one operation, frommineralized sand, from crushed ore, placer bed, or other source.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine that is adapted to regulate the depth of the pulp on the separator by the adjustment of, the angle thereof, in combination with the rate of feeding of the material, and movement imparted fto said separator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine that is adapted to substantially continuous operation.

c With these and other objects in view, reference I,

is now had to` the accompanying drawings in .which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 2 isa side elevation thereof;

1 i Fig. 6 isV a plan view of a representative discharge control;

I Fig. '7 isa side elevation of the gate of `said control; ,f Fig.v 8 is a rear elevation of the control guide Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation taken `onthe line 9---9` of Fig. 6;` l l Fig. 10 is a graph showingthe result of a com-V bined reciprocating and revolving motion elongating the minor axis of an ellipsel at one `end and shortening the minor axis at the other end;

and l l I Fig. 11 is a side elevation of a fragment of a `shaft and stub shaft showing collar in section.,

section of a -I Having reference to the drawings like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views andthe numeral Il refers` to a substructure, providing a supporting base which consists preferably of a table-like frame, preferably having a length inv excess of its width, and constructed of any suitable material that will provide aflrm support for a superstructure, to be presently explained, and that will withstand agitation of this superstructure` both longitudinally and transversely from a direct revolving movement at one end thereof and diminishing toa reciprocating -movement atthe remaining Vend. And also that will support and sustain an operating mechanism 2 secured to the base `at one end thereof, against rocking during operation of the machine.` l i The power to provide this movement may `be either manual, in the `lighter machines, or may be p-rovided by any prime mover (not shown),

land as the work does not require a complicated `be .explained as consisting of a vertically posi- `tioned shaft 3 journaled in bearings 4 secured to the cross pieces 5 of the base and on which is secured, in the customary manner` (notfshown), a drive wheel 6 connected to aprimemover (not shown) by the usual belt (not shown), while a fly wheel I will tend to counterbalance .the action whenplaced' as shown. ,l I

The shaft 3 terminates at itsupper .endin an eccentric of any approved type (or Vas shown in section in Fig. 3) where a stub shaft 8 is provided in continuation ofthe said shaft 3, andofi center therewith, and on this stub shaft is mounted a sleeve 9 bored to seat on the stub shaft and likewise off center, whence by revolving the sleeve thereon and securing it to the stub shaft by a set screw I0, at anypredetermined point, adjustment of the` throw of an eccentric II may be accomplished, the-sleeve 9 being adapted for engagementby; a ballbearing, represented as at I2, secured rigidly to a superstructure I3 and thus providing, with the eccentric, an adjustableconnectionw I' i 1 f @Obviously other means `(not shown) may be used to-provide aneccentric movement if desired. a l .I

The superstructure I3 consists of a rectangular head frame I4 constructedgof vany suitable material and provided With a head end I5and a tail- V-ings end I6,` and substantiallyrof the same dimenat the head end of the base carrying the mechanism being termed transverse rests I'I, being flat to accommodate the revolving motion of the head frame at this end (obviously a ball or other thrust bearing not shown may be utilized at this point to prevent friction), while rests adapted for reciprocating movement only, and being termed reciprocating rests I8, are provided at the tailings end I6 where the very slight revolving movement near this end is compensated for by the ilexibility of the head frame I4.

Thus is mechanically provided a variable transverse movement gradually diminishing from one end to the other, thus simulating ya hand panning movement where the maximum movement obtains at the point of beginning fof, the operation to provide a centrifugal force and the minimum movement obtains at the nnish of the operation to spread the material.

When the eccentric I I is assembled a removable cap I9 covers the eccentric and is secured thereon by a clip 2l] which is pivotally secured to the head frame I4 and which is provided with an extended arm 2| disposed and adapted to secure the cap in place. By this means the eccentric I I is made accessible for cleaning, oiling or adjustment of the throw.

The head end I of this head frame I4 is so cal-led as a 'concentrator head 2v2 (to `be explained), is positioned thereon, and forming a part of the superstructure I3 are vertical posts 23 secured rigidly to the head end of the head frame, at their lower end, and at their upper ends, carry a rectangular head-supporting-frame 24 which binds the four posts 'together wherewith to provide a 'support for the concentrator head 22, which will now be explained.

The concentrator head 22 is adapted to receive the material to be concentrated and for the purpose the material is reduced to a gangue or pulp by the addition of water, preferably as it enters the head, whereby to facilitate handling, and comprises a plurality of superimposed pans, preferably of concave form and consisting of a lowermost cverow pan 25 supported on the headsupporting-frame `2`4 by braces 26 (shown in Fig. 3), and provided at its central and bottom portion with an orice 27 providing an outlet therefrom for a purpose to beeXplained.

An uppermost head pan 28 is removably contained in and spaced concentrically with the overiiow pan a distance to permit a free flow of pulp therebetween and these two pans are of a relative size 'to discharge from the head pan, over its perimeter or rim, 'in a'thin veil, 'into lthe overiiow pan wit-hout possibility of flow of the pulp 'over the edge 29 of said overflow pan.

A removable loosening baie 30 is containedY in and spaced apart from said head pan 28 and consists of a substantially circular plate concentrically positioned with respect to the head pan, and paralleling the bottom thereof, and is cut to provide upturned vanes -3I projected therefrom to provide means to maintain the flowing and porous condition of the passing pulp and permit the heavier values to pass thereunder, and this bailie and head pan-are secured in their relative position with the overflow pan in a manner to be explained.

A feed funnel 32 is provided and is equipped at'its llower end with a flat screen 33, positioned below the rim of the head pan, thescreen being adapted to prevent lthe passage 'of any material too large to pass between the said baille and head pan, andthe heafd'p'an and overflow pan,

and said funnel is disposed to discharge onto said bale, with a spreading action, and into said head pan, permitting the light sand to rise through the pulp and pass 01T, and loosening the heavier pulp to permit settling of the heavier particles.

Said funnel is hingedly attached to the headsupporting-frame 24 by means of a hinge member 3a secured thereto and carried outside of the superimposed pans and extended downward for rigid securement to the head-supporting-frame, while an oppositely positioned member 35 terminates in a Washer-like end 36 to be secured to a bracket 31 by a thumb nut, represented as at 38, this last named member in turn being rigidly secured to said head-supporting-frame 24 in any suitable manner. By this means the funnel 32 may be released by the removal of the thumb nut and the funnel then removed, on its hinge, away from the center of the head pan and away 'fromthe baille, should occasion require, for cleaning or other purposes, and hence makes for accessibility of the head Vpan and for removal of the concentrates which rest in the pocket 39 formed in the bottom of the said head pan and beneath the lsaid baille, this pocket constituting the first recovery point.

Directly beneath the overflow pan and disposed to receive from the discharge orice 21 of the overflow pan is a pulp chute 40, upon which the pulp will drop, and which is secured integrally wfith and between the said uprights 23 where it is positioned with a slight declination to discharge toward the tailings end I6 of the machine, and a bolt 4I is adapted to secure the baiile and head pan by passing therethrough and through the overiiow pan to be secured by a thumb nut 42 beneath the said pulp chute.

The pulp chute consists of a lined box-like structure, the lining 43 forming the bottom of the chute, and terminating at substantially its low end in a transversely positioned cleanout channel or trough 44 having a removable wall 45 at its discharge end, the channel being disposed with relation to the said bottom of the chute that the pulp discharging from the bottom of said overflow pan will `low over and drop into the cleanout channel which will catch the heavier and valuable parts of the pulp remaining after passing Vthe head pan, and thus provide a second recovery point, the pulp then dropping onto the discharge end 46 of the chute.

Upon ilowing over this channel the pulp drops from the channel to a lower level of the lining which is provided with a stop 47 passing part way across the discharge end 46 thereof, the open part remaining providing a discharge outlet 48 therefor.

To catch and further separate the precious minerals in the pulp a separator 49 is provided and disposed to receive the dropping pulp from the discharge outlet of the chute at its head and back, or high and diagonally positioned corner 50.

I-t may here be said that the head pan, overflow pan, pulp chute, and separator (to be explained) al1 may have their upper surfaces made active by being amalgamated in the manner Well known in the art, where gold and silver, or like metals are to be recovered.

This separator 49 assembly consists of an auxiliary frame 5I hinged at its head end to the head frame I4 and is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed cam fingers 52 journaled in the head frame, at its tailings end, to raise or lower this frame about its hinge p'oint 53, wherebythe level thereof, longitudinallymay `be adjusted.`

` Adjustment is made from the head, and during operation," by means of a remote control consisting of a rod 54 pivoted to the cam nngers 52 and terminating in a threaded end mounting (not shown), Va hand Wheel 55 is riveted to the rod, and the threaded end 56 is engaged in a threaded socket (not shown) preferably in the end cross piece 51 in the head frame in the usual manner. frame two straps 58--58, spaced apart, are

On the back sideiof this auxiliary eating motion ofthe pan to direct the movement secured, and on the front side at substantially each end of the auxiliary frame, are pivotally mounted' discs 59, which by being pivoted off center provide two cams whose face is normally the same height as the aforementioned straps and which is provided with a like remote control `operating Aboth disc cams simultaneously through the medium of a connecting pitman rod 50, this rod `being likewise extended rearward and threadedly engaged by a threaded member 5| secured to oneof the uprights 23.

Secured rigidly to the straps 58 at the back edge and resting on the two circular :cams vat its front edge is the separator 49 propenwhich con- `sists likewise of a lined tray provided with an outlet 62 positioned diagonally opposite to the discharge spout 63 of the pulpchute 40, and providing a third point of recovery. This tray may be `removable for substitution of other trays (not shown) if desired.

A gate 65 may be utilized to control the volume of discharge if desiredand a typical gate is represented in plan in Fig.6 and in side elevation in Fig; '7 Where a tubular member 56 carries a blade '61 approximating one-half the opening in the tray, andthemember is provided with'a spring clip 58 at one end to engage the ledge of the tray 59 (see Fig. 9) and a post 10 (see Fig. l)- secures the remaining end of the 'gate against the thrust ofthepulp.. V The disc cams 59 are located'on the front side of the table and whenl operated by their remote control the separator is adjusted transversely, the flexibility of the metal strapspermitting such adjustment. Y Y

Obviously, hinges may `besubstitutexhi Ifor the straps if desiredrand springs, represented .as at 64, on the front side may yieldingly secure the front side of the table in its proper relation with the disc cams 59.f

The machine is designed to ciency of hand panning in recovering valuable minerals by utilizing the identical action of the hand pan on a large scale and preferably by power means, thus providing means to support and agitate the increased volume of material (over that of the hand pan) handled, and providing for uniform and continuous action as compared with the hand pan in which the first volume of ore handled must be completed before working a second and like volume.

In panning by hand the selected mineralized and barren materials are placed in the pan with Water as above mentioned and the pan is then manipulated with an oscillating motion to agitate the contents to prevent the material packing, and the motion imparted to the pan' for this purpose is variable depending on a combination of conditions, such as volume of material, as in the beginning of operation, and the specific gravity of the values to be recovered, and providing means to direct the movement of the concenincrease the eitrates 4to fa. suitable point of recovery, preferably toward the front edge of the separator.

- Agitationiofthe hand pan is accomplished by grasping the pan with both hands and giving it a substantially circularmotion at the beginning of the operation, to throw on the `barren matter, and vending the operation' by a substantially reciproof the concentrates to a suitable point in the pan (the junctureof theybottom and side) for the final recovery of the remaining concentrates.

This motion resolves itself into an elliptical motion accomplished by the use of the eccentric located at one end of the machine (the head end) which provides for a circular motion at the eccentric; and providing for a reciprocating motion at the other end, the combined motions describing an ellipse of varying mnoraxis in the agitated parts, obviously varying with the length of the superstructure, and providing a greater.

, manner. This material, which has been screened by the proper mechanism to pass through the machine as above mentioned, is now deposited in the feed funnel by shovel or other available means, together with a regulated flow of water.

The water providing aiiowingvmedium to the material, .gravity causes it to pass through the funnel and its screen onto the bafiie which will break up `any tendency to pack, and as the feeding will be regulated the relatively large size of the funnel will provide a supply culminating in a steady flow of the material through the funnel and into the head pan. js

'I'he gradual influx of the material into the head pan, assisted by gravityand centrifugal action caused by a short throw of the eccentric at a speed of approximately 200 R. P. M., now gradually moves the previously entered material toward the `rim of the headpan which by its relatively large perimeter will keep 4the entire body offmaterial in motion in a thinstream over its edge, assisting in the maintenance of its porosity andfinally` forcing the lighter material to discharge overthe sides of the head pan and into the overflow pan and tend to return the precious minerals down its sloping sides and to the first recovery point.

With the surface of the head pan amalgamated, and made active thereby, and with a certain amount of quicksilver lying in the first recovery receptacle, in the bottom of this bowl-like concave head pan, and as the pulp is broken up at the baffle, gravity will cause the said Quicksilver to permeate the fiowing material to catch and add its weight to that of the particles susceptible of being caught by the Quicksilver and thereby draw the saved matter under the baille where it will not be further molested or `affected by the moving material, to be recovered on removal of the said baille.

As the overiiow of barren-matter from the head pan occurs the pulp falls into the overflow pan and passes over its active surface until it reaches the discharge orifice in its bottom to fall onto the amalgamated plate of the pulp chute, which being inclined will assist "gravity to move the pulp to'w'ard,`into and over the cleanou't 'channel'where again any Quicksilver `laden matter escaping will vfa1=l 'into this channel to be subsequently recovered 'by `removal of its removable discharge end.

The pulp after passing over 'the 'cleanout chan- `nel drops again onto a planevdecllining toward a discharge: spout at the back side =of vthe chute where `it discharges `by dropping onto the separatorto be treated in a manner to be presently explained.

As before mentioned 4both the head, or 'con- "centratorend and the chute, are constructed as a vunit with thel head frame and he'nce the -concentrator, being located nearest the eccentric will: be provided with substantially a 'revolving Ior circular movement, in other y'words will describe .an vellipse having a relatively greater minor axis while the tailings end will be providedV with substantially a reciprocating move- Vment and that the movement will vary from the one movement to the' other throughout the length yof the head frame, asfshown plainly in the graph in Fig. 10. r

Therefore 'with the greater agitationr of the head the material will be kept looser to .permit the mineral to fall by gravity to some lower point fro-n1 which Tit vcan be recovered or its flow directed to that point.

It has now been shown that the 'heavier 'particles of the' mineral will rst be deposited in the head pan beneath the baffle, that the second point of deposit will be the cleanout channel, all 'under the influence of gravity asf siste'd by the relatively' circular agitation, and finally by means of the location of the separator -and its relatively short transverse "movement, augmented by gravity, and the gravity assisted by the adjustment of the table level, the minerals will vbe 'directed as indicated by the dotted streak, 'show-n on the table in Fig. 1, representing the course across the table, to be recovered as a concentrate in any suitable manner, and providing a third recovery point. I

Hav-ing thus described the invention, it is claimed:

l. .In a mining machine of the character d'escribed, 'a concentrator comprising a frame, a

superstructure carried by said- Aframe, a feed f." Vfunnel hingedly carried by said superstructure for movement into and out of an 'operating .position over the same to receive material and water mixed to form a pulp, a concaved overflow pan carried by said superstructure and formed with an outlet at its center, a concaved head pan of less diameter than the overflow ,'pan disposed in the overow pan concentric thereto and spaced upwardly therefrom, a baffle in said head pan located centrally thereof and having upstanding radially extending vanes, the feed funnel when in an operative position being located Yover the bale `and the head pan con- 'centri-c thereto, a chute carried by said superstructure under the overflow pan and formed with a transversely extending pocket intermedia'te its length and a discharge spout at one end, `means at the foot end of the frame for guiding longitudinal reciprocating motion thereof, and means at the head end of the frame for imparting horizontal revolving movement' to the frame While the foot end reciprocates longitudinally.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the chute extends longitudinally under the overflow `pan 'at a downward incline toward its 'discharge end, the pocket consisting of a trough extending transversely across the chute in spaced relation to the 'discharge end of the chute.'

3. The structure of cla-im 1 wherein the chute extends ylongitudinally under the overflow pan at adownward incline toward its `discharge ren'd, the pocket consisting of a trough extending transversely 'across the chute in spaced relation tothe discharge end of the chute, and the portion of the chute between 'the trough and the discharge for the chute being vstepped ldownwardly to provide a transversely extending shoulder across its inner 4lend.

4. `In a mining machine,a concentrator including a feeder, `a plurality of concentric con'- caved pans therebelow, 'arranged one above the other in 'spaced relation and increasing Yindianieter downwardly, a ybaille at thecenter of the restrict it to longitudinal reciprocating move- .ment as the r-st mentioned -end of the support revolves.

MAE COOK, Administratrz' of the Estate .of Charles H.

Record, Deceased. 

